The gulf oil spill catastrophe has entered a new phase, as Washington looks increasingly weak and unable to control the disaster or the political narrative.

Congress will do what Congress does best: hold hearings, express outrage and threaten subpoenas. The White House will continue to do what it’s doing – send out long, detailed memos to the media outlining “the ongoing response” to the oil spill. But BP and the Obama administration are married on this disaster – Coast Guard chief Thad Allen admitted that the federal government can’t take over the cleanup because it doesn’t have the expertise to take over.

On Capitol Hill, committees are preparing more hearings, Democrats are considering a higher gas tax and the Minerals Management Service will continue to take a beating from all sides.

Good Tuesday morning and welcome to The Huddle.

SUBPOENAS COMING: The administration is about to play hardball. POLITICO’s Morning Energy with an exclusive lookahead at oil spill fallout: “Look for an aggressive, visible criminal investigation of BP, Transocean and Halliburton after the Gulf gusher is capped. That doesn’t necessarily mean jail time. But companies are assessed huge fines for much lesser environmental violations. Two years after the Valdez spill, the EPA announced Exxon would pay a record $1 billion in criminal fines and civil damages. Attorney General Eric Holder asked the U.S. attorneys in the Gulf states to assess the damage for possible civil or criminal prosecutions. Holder told ABC’s “This Week” on May 9 that he “sent down representatives from the Justice Department to examine … whether or not there has been misfeasance, malfeasance.” They included assistant attorney generals for the Civil Division and Environment and Natural Resources Division.”

BP VS WHITE HOUSE: The administration is struggling to control the narrative on the out of control oil gusher POLITICO’s Glenn Thrush and Carol E. Lee report: “Until this week, the Obama administration had largely managed to deflect responsibility for the Deepwater Horizon disaster onto others — vowing to keep a ‘boot on the throat’ of BP, while slamming lax oversight on the part of federal regulators during the Bush administration. But now, with crude lapping into the bayou, even Obama’s defenders have turned critical. A White House that prides itself on operational competence and message discipline has been frustrated by an environmental catastrophe it can’t predict, can’t control and can’t out-message — and the strain is showing. ... White House press secretary Robert Gibbs surprised reporters at the daily briefing Monday by announcing the president would answer questions about the spill in person Thursday — the first presidential news conference Obama has given in months.” http://bit.ly/c4lbj7

TENSION RISING ON OIL SPILL: Karen Tumulty and Steven Mufson in The Washington Post: “The tenuous alliance among the Obama administration, the oil firm BP and Gulf Coast officials was visibly fraying on Monday, with exasperation on all sides mounting as oil from a deep-water gusher began lapping at the region's environmentally fragile shoreline. Meanwhile, the administration faced growing questions about whether it should be taking more control of the situation, rather than ceding so much of the decision-making about stopping the oil spill to the company that created it.

“On the coast, local officials complained that Washington has been too slow in helping them hold back the oil. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) said that the administration has not provided enough equipment -- including booms, skimmers, vacuums and barges -- and that it has stood in the way of his proposal to erect artificial barrier islands. Federal officials say that latter plan needs more study. "BP is the responsible party, but we need the federal government to make sure that they are held accountable and that they are indeed responsible. Our way of life depends on it," Jindal said.” http://bit.ly/awKL0d

DEAL TO END DADT: A vote in the House could come as soon as Thursday, as Sheryl Gay Stolberg reports in the NYT: “President Obama, the Pentagon and leading lawmakers reached agreement Monday on legislative language and a time frame for repealing the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, clearing the way for Congress to take up the measure as soon as this week.

“It was not clear whether the deal had secured the votes necessary to pass the House and Senate, but the agreement removed the Pentagon’s objections to having Congress vote quickly on repealing the contentious 17-year-old policy, which bars gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the armed services.

“House Democratic leaders were meeting Monday night and considering taking up the measure as soon as Thursday. But even if the measure passes, the policy cannot not change until after Dec. 1, when the Pentagon completes a review of its readiness to deal with the changes. Mr. Obama, his defense secretary and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff would also be required to certify that repeal would not harm readiness.” http://nyti.ms/9IPZWW

CONTRACT WITH AMERICA 2.0? House Republicans begin with a web site rollout soliciting ideas, as Perry Bacon and Paul Kane report in The Washington Post: “House Republicans will unveil on Tuesday a Web site they will use to solicit policy ideas from the public, the first step in the development of a platform that they will present to voters this fall.

“Called "America Speaking Out," the site borrows from the approaches of popular Web sites such as Wikipedia and Amazon.com. Starting this week, people will be able to go to http://www.americaspeakingout.com, submit ideas, rate those of others, and post their comments on Facebook and Twitter through the site. The most prominent users will earn "badges," though the GOP has not yet determined what rewards people could get. House Republicans also will go on the site and interact with users. Up to a dozen staff members will be monitoring the Web site, party aides said, both to keep it running properly and to filter out inappropriate messages. The Web site formally starts the GOP's process of touting its own vision and policies to voters.” http://bit.ly/bu9L7K

CHILLING: POLITICO’s Erika Lovley, in a front page story, gets exclusive details on threats to lawmakers: “I voted for you,” the caller said in a voice mail to Democratic Rep. Heath Shuler’s district office. “If you vote for that stimulus package, I’m gonna kill you. Simple as that.”

“The FBI says the caller was a 70-year-old resident of Shuler’s North Carolina district with a history of mental illness and a cache of guns. In the weeks before calling Shuler’s office, the FBI says, the caller beat and choked his wife. She told the FBI that she’d tried to clear her home of guns — and that she went to bed at night with a can of mace tucked under her pillow. … In February 2009, a man left voice mail messages for [Sen. Debbie] Stabenow in several of her Michigan offices. “We’re gonna [expletive] get you,” he said in one message. “We’re gonna get you with a lot of [expletive] bolt action. Like we did RFK; like we did MLK. We know who you are. We’ll get you.” http://politi.co/c5QDSr

NO SPECIAL COUNSEL ON SESTAK: Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan of POLITICO get ahold of a DOJ letter rejecting a GOP call for special investigation: “The Justice Department has rejected a Republican request to appoint a special counsel to investigate allegations that the White House offered a job to Rep. Joe Sestak if he would drop out of the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic primary.

“In a letter sent Friday to Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) — but not publicly released — a Justice Department official said there was no need to have a special counsel to look into the allegations. Republicans have been pressing the issue for months, but the White House has insisted nothing inappropriate happened. Sestak himself has been the source of the allegation, stating publicly he was offered a job in order to clear the field for Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.). Sestak ended up defeating Specter in last week’s primary, but Republicans are still pushing for a full-blown investigation of the job offer allegation. Sestak has refused to say specifically what administration job he was offered, but many think it was secretary of the Navy.” http://politi.co/bpUMQA

AUTO DEALER EXEMPTION: The Senate is letting auto dealers off the hook on the financial regulatory bill. Silla Brush in The Hill: “The Senate voted Monday in support of exempting auto dealers from a new consumer financial regulator that is part of the Wall Street overhaul bill.

“The 60-30 vote is a nonbinding message to House and Senate lawmakers drafting the final version of the legislation. The vote comes over the strong opposition of the White House, Defense Department and Treasury Department.Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) bucked the White House to vote in support of the exemption. Ten senators were absent. The House passed legislation in December that included an exemption for auto dealers. The Senate Wall Street overhaul bill passed last week did not include the same exemption.” http://bit.ly/cmwB2q

LIBERALS ON CONFERENCE COMMITTEE: The financial reform conference committee may be dominated by veteran, liberal lawmakers, WSJ’s Victoria McGrane and Damian Paletta report: “The roster of Senate Democrats, which is also said to include Sens. Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Tom Harkin of Iowa, suggests the conference will be dominated by veteran lawmakers. That could leave few seats for the Democrats elected in recent years who are generally seen as more friendly to business. … The House Democrats on the conference committee are expected to represent the more liberal wing of the party, including Reps. Maxine Waters of California and Luis Gutierrez of Illinois. Other Democrats in the mix of possible conferees include Carolyn Maloney of New York, Paul Kanjorski of Pennsylvania, Mel Watt of North Carolina, Gregory Meeks of New York and Dennis Moore of Kansas.”

OUTSIDE THE BELWAY with MJ Lee

SOUDER ON AFFAIR: Great detail from the Fort Wayne Gazette’s Sylvia Smith about how and why the Mark Souder affair with Tracy Jackson finally ended: “It ended, finally, about six months ago when the couple were in a parked car in a nature preserve in Whitley County. A Department of Natural Resources officer tapped on the window and told them to get moving.

“There was no citation, no arrest. But as word leaked out, it was the incident that would end the affair and lead to Souder's resignation. "Why would somebody who's almost 60 years old and been a congressman 16 years do something juvenile?" he said of being discovered in a car with Jackson in a public place.

"Subconsciously, was I wanting to get caught? Or was God so frustrated with me he said, 'I've had it. You're so stupid here I'm going to, in effect, out you.' "It doesn't really matter at the end of the day. Because ultimately maybe I was getting – and she was getting – so reckless that it was a way for God to say, 'You need to get your marriages back together. You need to get your lives straightened out.' Maybe it was also guilt.” http://bit.ly/d9yipQ

SESTAK WILL COMPLY: The Scranton Times-Tribune says Joe Sestak will answer questions about he job offer: “U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak pledged Monday to "absolutely" comply with investigators if his claims of a politically motivated White House job offer become the focus of a federal probe. Mr. Sestak, the Democratic winner in Tuesday's U.S. Senate primary, has refused to publicly discuss details of the offer since it was revealed three months ago and maintained that tack Monday in Kingston, saying additional discussion was "just getting into politics."

“U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., has asked Attorney General Eric Holder to probe whether the offer, supposedly made last summer to clear the primary field for five-term incumbent Arlen Specter, blurred political and legal bounds.” http://bit.ly/apQctE

DJOU’S OUTLOOK: A Honolulu Advertiser analysis of the special election in Hawaii’s 1st district shows that Republican Charles Djou did well in swing districts. Derrick DePledge reports: “Congressman-elect Charles Djou's strength remains in more conservative East Honolulu, but he demonstrated in his special-election victory Saturday night that he may be able to compete with Democrats in central and west side territory that could be critical in the November general election. …

“While the combined vote for Hanabusa and Case was still larger than Djou's markers, there is no guarantee all these voters would stick with the Democratic nominee in November.” http://bit.ly/c8eok5

BURR’S WARCHEST: The News & Observer reports that Republican Sen. Richard Burr continues to increase his campaign funds while the Democrats face each other in a primary runoff: “Burr held a fundraising breakfast Thursday at the offices of McBee Strategic Consulting, a major D.C. lobbying firm. The event, which featured Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander, cost $1,000 to $2,000 for political action committees and $500 to $1,000 for individuals, according to the Sunlight Foundation, which supports greater transparency in government.” http://bit.ly/b953We

DEMS SLAM MENENDEZ RECALL: Matt Friedman of the Star-Ledger on a tea party group’s request for Sen. Robert Menendez’s recall and the New Jersey Dems’ reaction to it: “The New Jersey Democratic State Committee has created a web page detailing controversial statements, political stances and affiliations of leaders of the group, Recall NJ. One of its top members questioned whether Obama was born in the United States.

“It’s a fringe element of the Republican Party. It’s an uber-right part of the party,” said Democratic State Chairman John Wisniewski.” http://bit.ly/dwJDlT

WJLA WASHINGTON WEATHER: Today will start just like yesterday, but we will break out into sunshine pretty quickly as our weather pattern begins to shift. The early clouds will give way to sunshine later this morning, and temperatures should climb to near 80 degrees by this afternoon. Temperatures and humidity will spike into the upper 80s/near 90 degrees tomorrow and Thursday.

Yep by all means FEMA sit on your "study" while the wetlands swallow the oil....Who is in charge?....NO ONE!.....Washington should have been front and center trying to "protect the coastline"....This is a FEDERAL not a STATE problem as it's a well over 3 miles out...Did Washington want to punish the State of Louisanna?.....Punishment is this administrations best strategy.

Republicans will never be able to live down "government needs to get out of the way.". As much as they will try to place blame on Obama for this man-made negligence, it'll never fly. BP said in writing that they had everything covered. The people who are trained to handle this type of disaster do not work for the gov't, they work for the oil companies. This man-made disaster caused by BP will disproportionately effect republicans. Lie in your beds!

I seriously doubt ANYTHING will be done everything will take forever to check into and then there will be appeals for the next 20 years, the american taxpayer will foot the bill as always. Those who lose the most will not get anything from BP ,maybe from the taxpayer as that is the way of Washington the big get slapped on the wrist and the taxpayers get the punishment, higher costs for years, never mind we are being price gouged now !!